eBay has one of the largest audiences on the web, making it one of the best places to market your used car for sale. It’s also a user-friendly platform that’s flexible and reasonably priced, though there are no cost-free selling options when selling a car on eBay.
For older used cars it offers the ability to give detailed descriptions and images that you can change whenever you want, and a safe trading environment that means you don’t have to hand out your phone number right away.
With such a wide audience it means you get serious buyers, chancers and people who don’t really understand what they’re looking at. How you approach selling on eBay very much affects your experience.
Selling a car on eBay: the basics
eBay was once an auction-only platform with low fees and little interference in sales but it’s now a global company that seems determined to treat sellers as if they’re suppliers and buyers as if they’re customers of eBay, not the seller. A sort of crowdsourced Amazon rival, if you will.
There’s one exception to that approach, though: eBay has wisely left the ‘motors’ section alone. For most other types of goods, eBay expects them to be posted or couriered to the buyer and requires postage information on the listings.
Sellers aren’t allowed to talk directly to customers, either. None of that really works when selling a car and eBay recognises as much, so selling a car on the platform is much easier than a smartphone or games console.
How much does it cost to sell on eBay?
There are three types of listing you can use to sell a car on eBay: classified adverts, fixed price listings (also known as Buy it Now or BIN) and Auctions. There are different costs to each one.
Classified adverts cost a flat rate of £19.99 – no final value fees are applied. Listings last for 28 days, you can exchange contact details with potential buyers who can make you an offer, and the listing ends when the car is sold.
Fixed price (BIN) listings cost £14.99, plus a final value fee of £25 or 1% of the sale price (whichever is greater), capped at £45. The listing renews after 30 days (for an extra fee) and you can’t exchange contact details.
Auctions cost £59.99 for any item that’s worth more than £450. You also have to pay the same final value fees as BIN listings – £25 or 1%, capped at £45. Adding a reserve price costs £9.99, a BIN price costs £5.99. A gallery of 12 photos costs £2.99. Auctions can last up to 10 days and the listing ends when the auction closes. You can’t exchange contact details.
Here’s a full break-down of eBay’s listing fees.
Technically, eBay’s auction and BIN listings are a contract to buy and sell but the reality is most used car buyers neither care, nor respect the difference – just as there is no ‘right to end early’ that can be reserved. As a seller you can specify that immediate payment is required in some cases – but ultimately you can’t guarantee a sale will go through.
Classified adverts are ultimately the least hassle and the least costly. It’s really only worth selling your car by auction if it’s particularly rare or unusual. You can revise the listing at any time, changing the price, description or images. eBay’s flexibility is better for selling specialist and imported cars than alternatives like AutoTrader, as well.
How to list your car on eBay – a quick guide
First of all, photograph your car following our guide to photographing your car for sale. You can use up to 12 images, which allows for a general view and some extra detail to support your listing.
Save yourself some time and take pictures on your phone, and edit them before putting them on eBay. If you take pictures in the eBay app, it often gets the rotation and crop wrong. Using software you’re familiar with will avoid some frustration.
Be realistic with your asking price. If you’re not sure how much your car is worth, get a Parkers free car valuation.
Creating a listing is a straightforward process that can be done from a desktop computer or the eBay app. The tools for making the listing ‘pretty’ are limited but most buyers just want the basics first, then you can ‘sell’ the car in more detail in the description. Before you hit the keyboard, check out our guide on writing a classified ad.
Give the car’s year, make, model, engine, trim level and a vague description of its condition (such as ‘full MOT’ or ‘project’) in the listing’s title. Then fill out as many fields in the Item Specifics section as possible – that helps your advert show in as many searches as possible, so specify any features it has such as an automatic gearbox or leather seats.
eBay is very keen on making listings easy to browse and presenting collections and getting the details of your car right is an easy way to ensure your listing is seen.
In the first paragraph of the description, state the condition of the car. eBay defaults to phrases like ‘Condition is used’ but don’t leave that in place – write something more helpful to the buyer. A good rule of thumb to guide you is ‘does it work, does it have an MOT, are there any mechanical issues, are there any cosmetic issues’.
In the next paragraph, list the features that you think make your car worth buying. Include things like unusual interior colours, upgraded stereos or navigation, a comprehensive service history. You don’t need to list all of the car’s specification as most buyers know the basics. But it’s your opportunity to really sell the car.
Finally, list any issues the car has so potential buyers don’t show up and find fault with it. Some common sense applies. If it’s a three year old luxury car, it’s worth mentioning if a heater control button is worn, or a seat is unusually creased. But on a 15 year old car, you can probably stick to disclosing things that you would want to fix yourself.
There’s no word count on a listing so there’s no need to use those arcane acronyms that used to fill newspaper adverts – PAS, ABS, FSH, VGC and so on. Don’t use amateur dealer phrases like ‘first to see will buy’, ‘no timewasters’ or ‘find another’.
Avoiding wasted eBay auctions
You can set buyer requirements on a listing such as no negative listings, unpaid items, or low feedback. It’s worth doing for auctions listings as it prevents people creating new accounts with no track record to mess with the bidding or contact you.
Closing the deal – making sure your sale completes via eBay
As a private seller, you want payment by bank transfer or in cash. PayPal isn’t a huge risk, but it’s sometimes possible for funds to be reclaimed after a sale so we advise avoiding it unless you really trust your buyer. But it is useful for accepting deposits, particularly if you’re kind enough to offer a refundable deposit to buyers.
Classified adverts are the most convenient listings. You can get phone calls or texts if you don’t want to use email, and eBay won’t prevent people sending you offers or asking you to call them. If you get an offer that sounds genuine, arrange for them to view the car and carry on as if you were selling through any other route. Once your car has sold you can end the listing with no more fees to pay.
Auctions are the trickiest. eBay doesn’t like buyers and sellers talking, so be circumspect when allowing a viewing before sale. If the car sells without contact from the buyer, send a polite message straight away congratulating them, and suggest a convenient time for them to pay and collect. eBay will usually refund final value fees if a buyer doesn’t show, but not listing fees.
Fixed-price listings can, on occasion, end with a buyer hitting Buy it Now then disappearing. For the most part, once an offer is accepted or BIN selected, they function like auctions. You can limit the chances of a no-show by not accepting offers without talking to the buyer first, and selecting ‘immediate payment required’ when creating the listing.
In all cases, never allow unaccompanied test drives and always ask to see proof of insurance before letting anyone drive your car. At the very least, they should have third-party extension cover for driving other vehicles – ask to check that the licence and policyholder match. Always make sure that you’ve been paid in full before releasing the car. Don’t forget to transfer keepership of the car when it’s collected.
What percentage does eBay take?
In the UK, eBay charges a flat rate for the various types of listings available, with additional charges for extra features. Final value – or sale – fees are applied to auction and Buy it Now listings. You’ll pay a minimum of £25 or one percent of the sale price (whichever is greater), up to a maximum of £45.
Can you return a car bought on eBay?
If you buy a car from a registered car dealer, your usual consumer rights still apply. That means you can return a car if it turns out to have any significant faults, or just isn’t the car described in the listing. However, you have no right of return when buying from a private seller.
